A quick update on what the Warnings from the Archive team have been listening to/reading/watching this week. The pieces that have caught our interest and develop the themes and topics explored by the project.
In the wake of Donald Rumsfeld’s passing there have been various comment pieces contemplating his controversial legacy. Atlantic writer George Packer’s assessment of the man who led the US into Iraq is that he was “the worst secretary of defense in American history.” Whilst Julian Borger, in the Guardian, predicts that history is “unlikely” to be forgiving of his mistakes. Both pieces are worthwhile analyses of a figure who casts a long shadow over Iraq today.
For a discussion of Iraq that looks more to the future, the Economist’s ‘Intelligence’ podcast recently surveyed the political landscape of the country ahead of October’s elections: ‘Iraq to its foundations: a chance to remake the state.’
Finally, as the US finally pulls out of Afghanistan after two decades of conflict, the FT have released a film documenting the impact of the war on the people who live there: ‘How the 20-year war changed Afghanistan.’